Apparatus for developing dies for die-rolling operations



June 6, 1933.. s. w. SPARKS 1,912,599

APPARATUS FOR DEVELOPING DIES FOR DIE ROLLING OPERATIONS Filed July 20, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 X16 TTORNEY ym 412M,

June 6, 1933. 5 w SPARKS 1 ,912,599

APPARATUS FOR DEVELOPING DIEs FOR DIE ROLLING OPERATIONS INVENTOR:

MJM

June 6, 1933.

S. W. SPARKS APPARATUS FOR DEVELOPING DIES FOR DIE ROLLING OPERATIONS Filed July 20 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 gu II I 35 40 40 5 38L I I I I i- Q Ii/ I} A; -/0

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I 4. 5 5 I I 5 5 w j E QfifiilQkWx x 4 fi w "3 7 24 a i i l 20 l l I f if Z ilkENTOR? BY a 1 I X 'AMTTORNEY June 6, 1933. s. w. SPARKS APPARATUS FOR DEVELOPING DIES FOR DIE ROLLING OPERATIONS Filed July 20, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY.

S. W. SPARKS June 6, 1933.

APPARATUS FOR DEVELOPING DIES FOR DIE ROLLING OPERATIONS Filed July 20, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 WA TTORNEY Patented June 6, 1933 FFEC s'rennnv w. stanzas, or'nnw tons, in. v1, jsssrenon To oneness r-r. Brennan,

i rnus'rnn Arrnnerns nnvntorrne "eras masculine"orientations Application filed InlyZO, 1929. Serial No. 579,627.

This invention relates to the production of circular or arcuate dies of predetermined size and shape for use in die rolling opera-' tions and has for its principal objects the I provision of an apparatus for making molds for use in the production of such dies, which apparatus is inexpensive, as well as simple to construct and assemble, and also the production in such apparatus of arcuate clay molds in which'metal patterns can be cast fromwhicharcuate dies can be reproduced with far greater facility and-precision than is possible by die sinking methods or diecherrying methods now employed. 7 In the production of arcuate dies, by us ing the general practice of layout and machining ordinarily employed, a complete translation by mathematical formulae and diagrams of all plane and curved surfaces of the piece to be reproduced is required inorder to obtain the faithful and exact translation of same to thedies and such practice is not only expensive and laborious, but involves many possible errors and complications which it is the object of my improved method and apparatus toeliminate. Furthermore, under the present practice, it is not possible to accurately determine the exact extent that is necessary to distort the dies in order that they canfree themselves easily of the processed pieces when making right-angle or other irregular shapes.

My investigations have led to the discovery that it is possible to expeditiously and accurately develop arcuate dies of predetermined size and shape without resorting to any mathematical calculations whatsoever by the employment of the apparatus and method hereinafter set forth in detail.

In the drawings accompanying this application, in which I have illustrated anapparutus embodying a preferred form ofmy invention,

Figure 1 1s a plan View of an apparatus for developing arcuate dies;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figsfi and ,4; are transverse sections on the lines 33 and l-l of Fig. respec-,

tively;

Flg. 5 1s a perspective view of a clay container;

1 Fig.6 is a fragmentary transverse horizontal section of the drums showing: the'pattern entering between the same in elevation and Fig. 7 is a similar View showing thepattern' in a mldway position with its transverse axis coincident with a diametricalline intersecting the centers of both drums;

a Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 8-8 of Fig. v7;and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary horizontal section showing one of the symmetrical halves of the finished mold; V.

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of another or modified form of pattern which is adapted to produce automobile axles;

Fig. 11 is a transverse section on the line 11 11 of 10; i i

Fig. 12 1s a perspective view of a clay container with a finished impression of such an axle shown therein; a I

Fig. 13 is a fragmentarytransverse horizontal section through two masses of clay in the opposing clay containers of two rolls *howing the said axle pattern entering be tween the same and F 14 is a similar view but with the parts in their further advanced relative positions.

Referring to the drawings and the construction shown therein, the reference numeral 1 designates the 36d plate of my machine and 2, 2' are drum-carrying pedestals which are laterally adjustable on said bed plate, the same being secured thereto by means of tongues 3, 3', respectively, that cooperate with longitudinal grooves 4E, 4e respectively. Cap screws 5, adapted to be inserted through openings tapped at appropriate locations in the bed plate, serve to rigidly retain said pedestals in any desired adjusted position. i

The pedestals 2, 2 are provided with stud shafts 6, 6 respectively on which are rotatably mounted spur-gear 7, 7. Immediately above the spur-gears on stud shafts are rotating drums or cylinders 8, 8 which are each of the same outside diameter as that of the rolls used in the subsequent die-rolling operation for which the dies are intended. 100

These drums are secured on the stud shafts by collars 9, 9 and which, like said spurgears, are freely rotatable on said stud shafts, but each drum is interlocked with an adjacent gear by means of dogs, 10, which project into slots 11, 11' respectively, and serve as a clutch to prevent rotation of said gears independent of the drums.

Rack-carrying, slidably mounted, adjustable pedestals 12 and 12 are also adj ustably mounted so as to be slidable in longitudinal grooves 13, 13 formed in said bed plate and are secured in the desired adjusted position by cap screws 14. The pedestals 12, 12 serve to support a geared lead-rack 15 which is longitudinally slotted adjacent its respective ends to form key-ways 16, 16 adapted to receive feather keys 17,17 that are formed on the inner faces of the bearings of said pedestals 12, 12'. V 1 i A roller 18, mounted on a support or bracket 19,,serves as a roller steady rest to prevent central sagging of the rack.

A standard 20 is also secured to said bed plate, so as to be adjustable transversely thereof, being secured in the desired adjusted position by capscrews. Said standard serves as a mounting for a worm 21,-which is operated by a handwheel 22, that is operatively connected through gear 23, the pinion 24- and the spur-gear 7, to the rack 15 and thence to the other spur-gear 7, whereby upon the rotation of said handwheel 22, the synchronous movement of the two spurgears 8 and 8 and the rack 15 can be effected.

The rack member 15 is provided, adjacent the respective ends thereof, with arbor-carrying block members 25, the same being rigidly elamped in any desired adjusted position on the rod-like extensions of said rack. Said blocks are each provided with an elongated slot 26, closed at their ends, which are adapted to receive adjustable sleeves 27, 27 that are keyed on the respective ends of an arbor 2S and fastened thereto by means of set screws 29.

As shown, said sleeves are provided with terminal flanges a at their inner ends and the central portions b thereof, immediately adjacent said flanges, are of square crossseetion. The outer ends of said sleeves are of reduced, circular cross-section and threaded to receive washers 30 and nuts 31.

As is evident from the construction of said sleeves 27, the same may be secured at any desired level within the slots 26, merely by temporarily holding the sleeves at the desired level and screwing down the nuts 30 against the washers 31 whereby said washers and the inner faces of the flanges a are drawn into snug engagement with the adjacent margins of the slots 26 and serve to clamp the sleeve in the adjusted position. on the brackets 25. The work-carrying arbor 28, which, as shown, is threaded at each end,

can be readily removed from the sleeves 27, 27' when it is desired to remove the shape or pattern, such as m, which is carried thereby and secured thereto by headless set screws 33, merely by removing one of the terminal nuts 32 and then withdrawing the arbor through the sleeves 27, 27.

Each of the drums 8, 8 comprise a hub section and spaced end discs, integral therewith, between which project a plurality of radially extending vanes or partitions 34, 34' also integral with said hub, which partitions are somewhat shorter than the radius of each drum and sub-divide the drum into a plurality of chambers 35, 35. A series of clay containers or pans 36, 36 are respectively mounted around the periphery of the drums 8, 8 in such a manner as to serve as closures for the chambers 35, 35', said pans being provided with apertured terminal flanges 3", 37 which are of such thickness that, as shown in Fig. 2, when the same are secured by the screws 38 to the outer ends of the partition members 34 or 34: the outer faces of said flanges lie flush with the peripheries of the aforesaid end discs of their respective drums. These pans are provided with. bottom perforations 39 through which is squeezed, during the forming operation, the surplus clay, thereby preventing it from being expressed upwardly around the pattern and over the edges of the mold during the forming of the mold, and said pans also are provided with central marginal, semicircular notches or grooves, such as the grooves 40, which correspond in siZe and shape to one-half of the cross sectional area of the arbor and which grooves are translated to and reproduced in the final dies wherein they will serve as vents to take care of any surplus metal that is in the die after the shaping of the billet is completed.

Referring to the modification illustrated in Figs. 10 to 14, the pattern y represents an underslung front axle of an automobile, the same being provided with a straight body portion 51 having a cross-section generally siimlar to an I-beani and having offset forked ends 52, 52 which latter constitute the usual lugs for holding the king pins of the wheel trunnions of an automobile. Double arbors 28 are provided for traversing the pattern between the molding drums and are similar to the arbor 28 previously described.

The ends 52, 52 of the pattern are offset from the body portion 51 thereof to form the usual underslung axle. If the finished metal dies to form this axle were exactly the mirror-image of each other, the offset end portions 52, 52 thereof where the pressure is first applied, would tend to extrude the plastic metal rearwardly from points in proximity to these ends to points immediately behind these depressions in the dies, thus allowing the metal to escape without which co-joperates with an exactly comperating depression or recess in the other die into which it, projects and whichrecess is of the exact shape and size to snugly receive and envelope; such stripper during the rolling operation.

This dam or strippereifectively closes the rear edge of the die cavities considerably in advance of the moment that the rotating dies assume a-closed position, thus confining the metal .to its proper place,

In forming the clay molds from which the dies are later made, it is desirable to produce a depression in one of them which will register or mesh withthe aforesaid projection on the other corresponding mold. To accomplish this, a rib or projectlon 53 of i the exact shape of. the aforesaid projecting steel dam or stripper of the upper die, is attached by screws or otherwise on the rear or righthand edge (see Fig. 10) of the pat-- tern y. Thus, as the pattern 3 is rolled 1 through the rotating drums or cylinders 8,

8, the rib 53 forms a cavity 54 in the plastic clay of the proper shape to serve the required purpose.

InFig. 12 is shown a clay container 36 containing a finished mold 55 of the back or upper half of the pattern y (see Fig. 11). It

is on this die, which is formed from this impression, that the said steel stripper or dam is formed, This clay container '36". is similar in all respects to the containers 36 previously described, except as to length which is necessarily longer to accommodate the particular pattern illustrated.

.,ll1e mold 5 of the front or lower half (see Fig. 11) of the pattern y is shown in cross-section in Figs. 13 and 14 where it will be observed that the rib 53 has partially produced the required cavity 54:.

, .In the productionof arcuate dies for dierolling operations, when employing the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 9, I preferably proceed asfollows i 1 Twoormore of theclay containers 36, 36' are exactly filled, either before or after these containers are fastened on the drums, with special molding clay, all surplus clay being carefully removed. Obviously, the container or containers on each drum which are so filled and which are to be employed must be the ones which correspond in position, peripherally of such drum to the loaded container' or containers on the other drum, as for example, when but two containers are being utilized the particular containers such as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7or any other corresponding opposing pair on the respective drums, should llDB the ones which should be filled orcharged with the clay.

The pattern a? having been secured in place atthe rear end of the arbor, as for example as shown inFig. 1, and in position-with respect to the loaded containers that its movement will bring it intermediate the partitions of the loaded containers 34, 34' when the pattern attains the positions with re spect to the drums as indicated in Figs. 6, 7 and 8.. i

The hand-wheel 22 is then operated, thus effecting the synchronous rotation of the drums and simultaneously effecting-the forward feeding of the rack, the arbor and the pattern connected therewith, at a speed corresponding totheperipheral speed ofthe spur gears 8., 8 which will be somewhat less than the peripheral speed of the larger drums and will approximate the speed of the layer of clay midway between the outer and inn er surfaces of; the clay mass or charges.

The pattern will travel in a rectilineal line between the drums and, as shown in Fig. 8, a vertical, central, transverse plane thereof will, at the moment the pattern reaches the exact central position with respect to a diameter intersecting both centers of rotation of the drums, have its boundary or periphery completely enveloped by the clay of the respective opposing containers. After the pat tern has passed completely between and be yond the drums andan exact impression of each half thereof has been obtained in the opposing.containers, the latter are removed from the drums and trimmed or modified slightly to allow for the shrinkage of the aluminum subsequently cast therein after which they are baked in an oven in-the 1nan-. nor-customary in foundries where aluminum matrices or cores are produced. The baked mold is then utilized to produce an aluminum matrix or core and the latteris then in turn utilized-inaccordance with the well known foundry practice for making a sand mold. An iron or steel casting is then produced in such sand mold, which casting when finished in the-usual manner will constitute an arcuate die which is a, precise and faith ful translation of-the original shape or pattern,-and with. the necessary deformation to admit of the rolled shape freeing itself from the dies during the rolling operation,

lVhileI prefer to apply plastic clay to the cylinders to receive the impression imparted thereto by the pattern and also to adjust the cylinders so that portions thereof are in rolling contact with each other when the pattern is presented thereto and run therethrml also propose in certain cases, such for example as in the production of typographic printing forms or plates, to apply to the cylinders relatively soft or plastic metal or papier mach mastic to receivethe impression from a pattern having reverse type applied thereto, such type being preferably applied toboth sides thereof. In

, such cases the cylinders are so spaced relative to one another that type carried by each side of the pattern will impart the exact impression thereof to the plastic or soft metal surface of the cylinders, and the cylinders are properly supported'so that the complete imprint of the type is received by the metal and yet the cylinders are not thrown out of their adjusted position relative to each other as a result of such pressure being applied thereto. Obviously the amount of pressure required for effecting thedesired impression on a cylindrical, cast plastic metal blank applied to such cylinders when it is desired to produce typographic plates is considerably in excess of the amount required for the production of a clay or papier mach mold. The typographic cylindrical plate obtained by the above described operation is peculiarly adapted, without requiring any elaborate finishing operations, for application to the cylinders of a printing press approximately corresponding in diameter to the diameter of the cylinders from which said plate has been removed after completion thereof.

comprising a pair of opposing members hav- -40- ing arcuate surfaces adapted to have'rolling contact with each other, the external curvature of at least a portion of each of said surfaces conforming to that of the dies desired,

. a pattern-carrying arbor adapted to project between said arcuate surfaceswhile they are in rolling contact without spreading the same, peripherally disposed receptacles on each of said'arcuate members adapted to re- A ceive plastic molding material, said receptacles having a foraminous wall to permit of I the expression of surplus molding material therethrou'gh during the IIIOlCllD operation, feeding means for simultaneous y effectmg .the movement of said arcuate members in 'unison. with each other and for advancing the arbor together with pattern carried thereby and for causlng it to pass at a predetermined speed between said arcuate members when portions thereof are in rollingcontact' with each other.

2. In a molding apparatus for generating clay molds for use in making arcuate dies for die rolling operations, the combination comprising a pair of opposing rolls adapted to have rolling contact with each other, the

external curvature of at least a portion of each of said rolls conforming to that of the dies desired, a pattern-carrying arbor adapted to project between said rolls while they are in rolling cont-act without spreading the same, peripherally disposed receptacles on each of said arcuate members adapted to receive plastic molding material, said receptacles having a foraminous wall to permit of the expression of surplus molding material therethrough during the moldin operation, feeding means for simultaneous y effecting the movement of said arcuate members in unison with each other and for advancing the arbor together with a pattern carried thereby and for causing it to pass at a predetermined speed between said arcuate members when portions thereof are in rolling contact with each other.

3. In an apparatus for generating clay molds for use in making arcuate dies, the combination comprising two oppositely disposed'matriX-carrying members mounted on shafts and adapted to have rolling contact with each other, peripherally disposed matrices carried by said members, a patterncarrying, longitudinally movable arbor, means on opposite sides of said matrix-carrying members for supporting said arbor when the same is projecting between said members and means for moving said members.

4 4. In an apparatus for generating clay molds for use in making arcuate dies, the

combination comprising two oppositely dis-' posed matrix-carrying members mounted on parallel shafts and adapted to have rolling contact with each other, peripherally dirposed removable matrices carried by said members, a pattern-carrying, longitudinally movable arbor, means on opposite sides of said matrix-carrying members for supporting said arbor when the same is projecting between'said members and means for moving said members.

5. In an apparatus for generating clay molds for use in making arcuate dies, the combination comprising two oppositely disposed drum members mounted on adjacent shafts, said drums being arranged so as to have rolling contact with each other and having peripheral recesses having foraminous walls which are adapted to receive plastic molding material, a pattern-carrying arbor adapted to project between said drums while the same are in rolling contact with each other and means for supporting said arbor at its respective ends while permitting of longitudinal. movement thereof in a direction transversely of said drums.

6. In a molding apparatus for generating clay molds for use in making arcuate dies for die rolling operations, the combination comprising a pair of opposing members having arcuate surfaces adapted to receive molding material and to have rolling contact with each other, a pattern-carrying arbor and means for simultaneously moving said members and said arbor.

Signed at New York, in the city, county and State of New York, this 14th day of June 1929.

STANLEY W. SPARKS. 

